Introducing Myself

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating

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automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Introducing Myself

Post by automatedeating » Sat Aug 31, 2013 3:01 pm

My user name is "automated eating" because I have noticed that my Dad (and many other disciplined people I know) eats pretty much the same things every day--oatmeal for breakfast; veggie burrito and churros for lunch
EVERY WEEKDAY his diet is really similar to every other weekday. Growing up, Saturday nights we always ate ice cream and watched Lawrence Welk. He is just as disciplined about working out, but I won't go into too many details. After all, this post is about me, right? :)
So, I really believe that a winning plan for me is to automate my own eating and (eventually) my exercise. I go back to work Sept. 13th (I am a teacher) and so things are still a bit random, but I'll be looking for automatic breakfasts and lunches, then whatever my husband or I make for dinner.
Struggles for me are mindless eating.....and emotional eating! I've only noticed this in the past year or so. If I get mad, I walk over to the counter and will eat any junk that may be there. Sometimes I won't even really taste the food and suddenly realize what I've just done!!
I work full-time as a teacher during the school year, my husband also teaches; we have two boys (7 and 4), and I also somehow fit in homeschooling our 7 year old. So we're busy.
I was extremely athletic and busy in competitive sports until college. I didn't gain weight until I had kids though. Before my first child, I was 115. I think my weight gain is due to a variety of factors: 1. stopped walking every day (our dog died); 2. HIGH stress when my husband went back to grad school when our firstborn was still a baby; and 3. Degenerating into more and more disordered eating with our busy schedules.
So, I am tinkering with the idea of walking to/from work this year to add back in exercise; and obviously I have chosen the No S diet as a way of regaining some routine to my eating.
Thanks for listening. I wouldn't be posting here if I didn't truly feel that using these message boards will give me a greater likelihood of habituating my eating. BTW, I am using my home calendar and RED, GREEN and ORANGE markers to visualize my journey (rather than habitcal). One full week green!
:
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

jw
Posts: 844
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:27 pm
Location: PA

Post by jw » Sat Aug 31, 2013 3:30 pm

One full week green -- congrats and welcome! You'll find this community very supportive. I think you might especially like the sticky on intelligent dietary defaults -- it is exactly what you describe as "automated eating." Best wishes!
"The second you overcomplicate it is the second it becomes the thing for which it is a corrective." -- El Fug

Ruamgirl
Posts: 58
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:14 pm

Post by Ruamgirl » Sat Aug 31, 2013 5:50 pm

Welcome, and congrats on a full week of green!

wosnes
Posts: 4168
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:38 pm
Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA

Post by wosnes » Sun Sep 01, 2013 11:38 am

Welcome and congratulations on your first week's success!

I came back to read your post in order to respond to Skelton's post. I realized that I've been doing essentially the same thing since before I started No-S.

My plan is as follows:

Breakfast (if I eat breakfast): toast, fruit, maybe an egg OR oatmeal and fruit
Lunch: soup, bread, fruit
Dinner: whatever I decide to make

I think a routine like this works because not only does it eliminate deciding what to eat, it limits variety.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

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Jethro
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 6:31 pm

Post by Jethro » Tue Sep 03, 2013 5:43 am

wosnes wrote:Welcome and congratulations on your first week's success!

I came back to read your post in order to respond to Skelton's post. I realized that I've been doing essentially the same thing since before I started No-S.

My plan is as follows:

Breakfast (if I eat breakfast): toast, fruit, maybe an egg OR oatmeal and fruit
Lunch: soup, bread, fruit
Dinner: whatever I decide to make

I think a routine like this works because not only does it eliminate deciding what to eat, it limits variety.
Your plan is awesome! I'm going to implement a variation of it based on what I like.
"Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence."
- Vince Lombardi

Sometimes you need to take one step back for every two steps forward.

Time heals everything!

90% of a diet is 60% mental

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Post by eschano » Tue Sep 03, 2013 1:39 pm

Hi Automatedeating,
Love your story about your dad! Mine is the same. Good luck with implementing it.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:05 am

Keep up with us. I like more variety, but my meals are very similar in their ratios.

The French eat pretty much the same breakfast every day, and I'm pretty sure their meals are pretty similar in the courses, if not the content of those courses.

Once you get a sense of what the meals are made of, it's a lot easier to shop and keep those building blocks on hand.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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